Adventures of a Dreamer
by Barrett M107
Summary: With the death of a King, comes the search for the treasure. The Title of Pirate King is now theirs for the taking. So long as they find that one place. A simple hat acts a crown, and it has been passed down now that the King is dead. Is this the rightful heir? A dreamer is in for rude awakening as this new era begins. OC Crew. Some M-Rated Language.
1. Chapter 1

I'm here with a story that I think is pretty good. I have ideas, and I like where I see it going. I have so much of it done already, and I am just proud of what I've got in store.

I have to thank my bud, **The Guardian 1412**, for the help he has given me. Shout out to that guy.

This **was** going to be one Big author's note to get it all out of the way, but I'll save the other stuff for the end. I hope you all enjoy**!**

* * *

Valon Town, a peaceful trading town right next to the sea. A community of blue collar workers doing their jobs around the clock to feed not only their families, but help feed others through catching fish, working on ships for both the Navy and Pirates alike, though the Navy actually paid them for their services. A peaceful town it was, where even Pirates rarely caused trouble, and while they did, the town had so little to take that could've been of value that it was not so difficult to bounce back.

Their many ports were busy with fishermen going about working together to bring in fish. Traders and Merchants were walking around, trying to barter with some of the people, and peddle some goods to the people.

"Heave! … And heave! … That's it, hahah, this is a good haul!" A group of men together pulled on a large wire net, pulling it from the sea. As it broke the surface dozens of fish were revealed, trapped within, bringing a grin to their faces and many of the onlookers. They handed it off to a large muscular man who towered over most of them, and most of them began to talk or break for lunch.

A man walked away from them to an emptier portion of the docks and he took in the ocean air. He wiped the sweat from his face with a towel around his shoulders, "Today was certainly a good day for fishing… Good day indeed."

"Hey… Hey, old man." He felt a tapping on his shoulder.

"I'm only forty-five I'll have you know…" He said lightheartedly as turned around and a kind smile spread across his tanned face. He looked down slightly, seeing as the young woman in front of him was slightly shorter, "What can I do for ya, miss?"

She tucked a few strands of silver hair behind her ear, and she produced a picture from the front pocket of her shirt, "Seen this guy around?" She asked him.

He took the picture and examined it for a moment, "Ah… I recognize that shop, it's from right here in Valon Town," He commented. It was a of a young man walking along, dressed in an open pink shirt and black shorts, sandals on his feet, a fisherman's hat on his head. He was simply walking along, "Hmm… Lad looks familiar, but I can't seem to place him, sorry," He handed the picture over to her. She sighed, her shoulders slumped.

"Crap… Damn, info broker… Handed me a picture free of charge, and then overcharges for all of the other stuff … Tch," She grumbled to herself, shaking her head, "Well… Thanks for… Yeah," He was no help at all, and she wasn't about to tell him he was.

"Hold on a moment, miss. I hate to see someone so young so down, and especially if it's such a cute girl," He chuckled, and she glared at him, but he didn't seem fazed by it, "Hey Thomas, c'mere! I need your help with something!" He called over his shoulder to a group of workers and a younger man who looked appeared to be in his twenties with short black hair, and a muscular build broke off from them and jogged over to them.

"Yeah, Chief?"

"This young lady needs a bit of help looking for someone, and he might be here in Valon Town, mind helping her out?" He asked and the silver-haired girl held up the photograph for him to see.

"Huh? … Oh, him. Yeah, he comes to the fishing docks about every other week and goes in to town for a bit, then leaves," Thomas pointed out to sea, and the young woman saw a small island in the distance, "He lives out there. Odd fella… Just comes by every other week with fish and leaves just as quickly with a sack full of something. Hope that hel – Huh?" Thomas and the man looked down and the girl was gone.

"I finally found ya, ya bastard!" Their heads whipped around in time to see the girl dive in to the water and speedily swim toward the island.

"What the..." They both mumbled, blinking in confusion.

* * *

"Shoo be do be… Shoo be do… Be do… Be do be… Hm Hmm… Be do be…" A young man hummed a tune to himself, casually passing the time while he lounged back in a folding chair. Fishing pole in hand, a straw hat on his head, tilted down to shield his eyes from the sun that was bearing down on him. The gulls screeched as they hovered overhead, smaller waves gently washed on to the white sand beach of his small island.

"Not a busy day for the fishes…" He sighed, tipping his hat up slightly to take a look at the sea. He lightly tugged on his fishing rod to bring in the hook a bit. He couldn't see anything at the surface. His shoulders slumped a bit, "Must be sleepin'…" That meant coconuts and the leftovers. But sleeping… that didn't sound like such a bad idea actually. It was hot, the fish weren't biting as much, and he was tired to begin with…

His rod shifted and the line was pulled taut for a second. The young man lifted his head, "Oh ho… 'Bout time, I can eat and take a cat nap after this…" He sat up and gripped his fishing rob with both hands. He braced his bare feet in the sand and he pulled back. There was a pause…

The line hadn't moved. His brow furrowed. He took the straw hat off of his head and set it on the sand, "C'mon you..." The line still didn't budge, at least not as much as he wanted it to. The fish didn't seem to be fighting back though, even seaweed fought back a little, but he knew there was none this close, or rocks big enough to stop it like this…

He scratched his grey head of hair in confusion, "What the… Hurgh!" He pulled again. Nothing. Again and again, he kept trying but line only moved a small bit. It didn't feel like he was fighting a fish or they would be pulling back, "Bwah!" He was suddenly pulled from his chair and he nearly fell face first in to the sand. He managed to catch himself and pulled hard on his fishing rod.

"Damn… Urgh! What the heck are ya?" He asked himself. His eyes narrowed. There was something dark in the water. It was coming closer. He leaned forward, and tilted his hat down to get a better look. There was another sharp tug just when he gave whatever he was in a tug-of-war with a little slack and he was pulled in to the muddier sand that the water washed over when the waves came, "Ur… Mm!" He looked up for a brief second, dazed by the fall, and before he could react, he was being pulled toward the water.

He suddenly stopped underwater, and he opened his mouth to yell. He had forgotten exactly where he was in his shock. Salt water flooded in to his mouth and he thrashed around, trying to right himself underwater and swim to the surface. He couldn't, it felt like something was holding him back around his neck. He hoped it wasn't his own line or some damned baby Sea King octopus. He reached up to free himself, and he felt it. He realized what it was.

A hand around his neck!

He looked down in a panic, wanting to know just what the heck was going on. His grey eyes met an angry pair of red eyes.

Before he knew it he had broken the surface of the water. He vomited up a small amount of salt water that had gotten in to his mouth and he took in the fresh air in large gulps, "Freakin' hell… What the…" He wasn't the only one there. The hand was still around his throat, holding him up. That hand was attached to an arm, and that arm to a human. It was a… He couldn't tell the gender of this person. They had long, greyish hair that was heavy with water, but he had seen plenty of men with long hair. Their dark colored clothes were soaking wet, and he couldn't make out curves or a body type.

He couldn't focus on their face. He was more focused on prying the hand off of his neck. His eyes hurriedly switched between their hand, and their face. He stopped on her face, and his eyes met their one. He noticed now the black eye-patch they wore over their right eye.

But there was still the left eye. The left, red, and very angry looking eye glaring right at him.

"Ah Shit!" He wheezed.

"Found you!" She growled, using one hand to move her hair aside. Danny opened his mouth to first beg her to let him down, and then ask her what was going on, but he more pressure was added to his throat as he was lifted higher. He kicked, and he felt his bare feet make contact, but he didn't go down at all. He was pulled forward slightly and the next thing he knew he was sailing through the air.

A few seconds later gravity brought him down, crashing in to the sand.

"Pffft! *Cough, Cough!* Aggh! So gritty!" He sputtered and coughed, rolling on to his side. Now he had the taste of salt water combined with gritty sand in his mouth. He spit out most of what he could.

"Oy! Get up and fight me, ya bastard! Show me what makes you so damn special!"

He froze. The voice was definitely female, now he could tell. His head whipped around; wide-eyed he looked over his shoulder to see the same girl walking on to the beach. She whipped her head forward, bending over and letting her hair flip over her head. She whipped her head back and ran her hands through hair to pull it back and out of her face.

'_She's cute…' _He thought. That thought process stopped though as her glare settled on him again, _'Shit!' _

"You! C'mere, Straw Hat!" She shouted, starting toward, stopping for a moment to pick up his straw hat. He grabbed his head. It must've flown off when he was pulled in to the water. When _she_ pulled him in to the water.

"Oh hell!" He hissed. He scrambled to get up, but merely ended up clawing the rest of the way to his hut while his feet, moving as fast as they could, kicked up sand. He finally made it to his window, and he tried to crawl inside. He yelped feeling her grab on to his ankle the moment he'd gotten halfway inside and he could put his hands on the sand floor of his hut.

"CrapCrapCrap!" He shouted in quick succession. Next thing he knew he was being pulled back. He groaned feeling his stomach scrap against the not so smooth wood of his windowsill and he clung to the wooden frame, holding on for dear life. She was abnormally strong! He wasn't exactly heavy, but based on what happened earlier, he was in some trouble, "Let go of me, ya psycho Bit – Whoa!" He was jerked back mid-sentence. He gripped the windowsill with such force that he felt his nails dig in to the wood. He kicked back in a desperate attempt to free himself, and he felt his foot connect with something. He had been trying to pull away from the very beginning, using all of his strength, to try and get himself inside and away from this crazy girl.

She had let go of his ankle so suddenly. He went face-first in to the sand and he felt his neck bend and pop painfully. His back arched and he could've sworn he felt his foot on his back!

"Get out here, Straw Hat!" She shouted, "You've got five seconds before I bring the shitty shack down and drag you out of the remains!"

'_Straw hat?' _He thought. He groaned, and he shifted a bit so that he would fall on his side. He spit out sand and sat there for a moment, holding his neck, _'Crazy chick… Hot or not… Ugh…' _

"Three… Two…" He's eyes widened immensely. She was serious!

"Hold on now!" He exclaimed. He used the windowsill to lift himself up and he peaked over it. He was eye level with her stomach. His grey eyes slowly traveled up. He couldn't make out any curves at all, not under her shirt even when it was soaking wet from the sea water. Bummer…

He was looking in to her eyes again. Her arms were folded in front of her chest, and she was looking none too happy.

"J – Just hold on…" He stammered for a moment, "What the hell do you want?"

"C'mere!" She snapped. He had no time to do anything. He knew he should've grabbed a weapon! She grabbed him by the color of his pink and black shirt and he was lifted out of his hut and tossed through the air.

"Oof!" He hit the sand hard once gravity took over, "Aah… Oow…" He lifted his head, and he shielded his eyes from the sun with his left hand. His right arm came up to chest. He intended for it to be some kind of defense, but against her he was sure it would break like a twig.

She stopped at his feet. She glared down at him.

"What the hell do you want?" the young man groaned, "I never did anything to you, chick…" He said as he slowly sat up. He winced and rubbed his lower back. That wasn't the only place hurting. He really hoped this was some kind of case of mistaken identity, then maybe he could get some money out of her for the damages…

"Are you Danny D. Grey?" She asked after a moment of silence.

"It's just Danny Grey… But, yeah, that's me," Danny replied, "Uh… How do you know my name?"

"I've been asking around about you… The boy who inherited the infamous straw hat," She said, tossing said straw hat up and down.

She stopped and she held it in both hands. She looked down at the hat almost fondly, she smiled, "All those scars… The repair… Yeah, there could be a hundred straw hats out there… But, there's no mistaking this one…" She talked more to herself than to Danny. He blinked in confusion. When she frowned, he froze yet again, waiting for her next move.

She took a step toward him and Danny flinched, immediately using both of his arms to guard his face. No punch or kick, there was no hitting him at all. He felt something on his head.

He opened his eyes and he saw she had placed the straw hat on his head, "Uhmm…" Now he was really confused, "Did you say… _Infamous_?" He asked, "Wait… Hold on… Better question, who are you?"

"I'm Shura Barlet!" She exclaimed, pointing her thumb to her chest. She reached for him and Danny quickly tried to scurry away, but she had caught him by the scruff of his shirt and pulled him up to eye level with her, "Now tell me, just how did you get that hat?"

"S – s – some guy… H – he… Th – the Navy lead him to the gallows and I guess he was executed! He just put the hat on my head, and said good luck! I swear!" Danny brought his arms up to protect his face.

"No way!" Shura shouted, lifting him higher off of the ground until his feet no longer touched the sand, "I guy like you?! There's no way that the Pirate King would give that hat to a lazy bum like you!" She shook him this way and that furiously. She finally stopped and dropped Danny on to his rear in the sand.

The straw hat had flown off of his head. She caught it as it floated down. She sneered at it, "Dammit…" She put it back on his head, a bit more forcefully this time, "That's not fair!"

"Ahh!" Danny halfheartedly glared up at her, "What the hell is your problem?! You've been beating on me this entire time! What did I ever do to you?" Shura bent down, nearly eye level with him and glared in to his eyes. Danny froze with fear, unable to look away, unable to break eye contact. Shura made a quick move toward, a threatening motion, and the grey-haired young man scurried away in fright. Shura didn't move from her spot.

"Ugh!" She groaned, standing at full height again, "Seriously, did you steal it from someone instead? Did it wash up on to your beach?" She sounded almost desperate.

"I told you…" Danny said, eying her up and down, "All I remember is a guy giving it to me on his way to the gallows… I – I swear that's all I can remember… It was like ten or eleven years ago… C'mon man… woman," He quickly corrected himself, "Just stops hitting me already… It freakin' hurts…"

"Ugh… You are such a wimp! I barely used any of my strength and here you are whining like a… Ugh! Why do you have his hat?! _You_! Of all of the people he could've given it to that day!" Shura reared her leg back, and Danny shrunk back in fear. She kicked and struck the sand, sending a big wave of sand in to the air and over Danny, "Which was fifteen years ago!"

"Pfft! Pft! Blah! Pfft! Oh.. Aw! Uuugh! It's in my –pft!- Mouth, dammit!" Danny piped up, rolling on to his side and spitting out sand, he wretched and went as far to use his hand to try and remove the sand from his tongue, but he had just recently been in the sea, and he been rolling around in the sand, two details he had forgotten.

"Ack!"

"And stop calling him _some guy_!" Shura shouted angrily, causing Danny to flinch back yet again, "That _guy_ was the Second Pirate King, one of the strongest pirates to ever live! He did battle with some of the most feared and most powerful Pirates of his time; some of the most powerful Navy officers too! He defied the World Government several times and he's cheated death just as much on his quest to achieve his dream, and help his crew achieve theirs as well!" Shura closed the distance between them and Danny crossed his eyes, looking at the finger pointing at him, "That _guy_ was Monkey D. Luffy!" She pointed to the straw hat on his head, "And that is his straw hat you're wearing!"

There was a pause. Small waves washed ashore, seagulls screeched and a little breeze blew by them. Neither of them said a word.

"…Uhm… Who is Monkey D. Luffy?"

* * *

**And there you have it. That is the end of chapter one for my new story.**

**Danny Grey, you all read that right. He has no idea of who Monkey D. Luffy is. How does he have the hat? He was running away quite a bit, so that makes it even more confusing, maybe?**

**And Shura? Pushy lady, eh?**

**I wanted to make one thing clear. This story will follow an OC crew, but Canon characters will come in to play. I will more than likely add more tags, I just want certain things to be a surprise. **

**Next chapter, Danny learns a thing or two about that straw hat.**


	2. Chapter 2

**And I am back with chapter 2.  
**

_'Uhmm... Who is Monkey D. Luffy?'  
_

And now we see just how Shura reacts to that. A young man, wearing the same straw hat as the late Pirate King, Monkey D. Luffy, has no idea who that man is.

**Oxenstierna D. Yuki-Rin - **I probably will not be taking OCs, but I'll certainly say something if I am :)

**Ultima-owner **- I suppose we'll see in future :)

Thanks you two for reviewing and thanks still to those who gave my little story a chance. On to the next chapter!

* * *

"What? Did you... Just… Say?" Shura stood stock still. Her arm went limp and fell to her side. Her mouth opened slightly, her eye wide with shock and her eyebrows having disappeared behind her still wet bangs. Danny watched her for a moment, partially curled in to a ball, hoping in his mind that it would offer some protection for when she finally snapped and attacked him.

He slowly unfurled, but still he watched her warily. She didn't even look to be breathing…

"Wh – Who…" Danny paused and gulped, "Wh – who is Monkey D. Luffy?"

Shura fell to her knees, still looking him in the eyes, and Danny flinched back. When she didn't make any kind of move toward him, he calmed down. He leaned forward slightly, and he slowly, raised his shaking hand and quickly waved it in front of her face. He brought it back just as quickly. He did it again, "Uhm… H – hey… Shura?..." She didn't respond, "Hey! … You didn't die did you?"

Danny leaned forward a little more…

"HOW?!" She suddenly screamed, and Danny yelped. He jumped back and curled in to a ball, wrapping his arms around his face.

"Not the face!"

"How?! Why?! Of _all_ of the people _he_ could've chosen… It was you?! How can you own the Pirate King's hat, and not know. Who. He. Is? That… That th-that…" Shura was speechless. Her hands came up and she placed them over her face. She ran her hands through her hair and she tipped her head back, "Sweet Whitebeard… How?"

Danny's face contorted, looking at the girl as if she had spontaneously grown a second head, _'What the hell is up with this girl?' _

"Of all of the people…" She murmured. Shura lowered her head and looked at him. Her eyes had lost their anger. She seemed sadder, and… disappointed?

"He gave it to a clueless idiot who doesn't even know who Monkey D. Luffy is…" She stated as if she wasn't talking to him. She shook her head.

"Who're you calling an idiot?" Danny piped up, taking offense to her words. Shura slowly started to stand and Danny flinched back, "Sorry!"

Shura looked down at him for a few seconds, not saying a word. Danny looked in to her eyes and she asked him, "You really don't know… Do you? Who Monkey D. Luffy is?"

Danny shook his head in response, "Not a ... ***Yawn* **… Clue… Sorry." Shura again shook her head, and she held out her hand to him. Danny immediately flinched back and started to back away, but stopped when Shura told him that she wasn't going to hurt him. Danny was still hesitant. He slowly extended his hand, butbShura quickly grabbed his wrist and pulled him up in to standing.

Danny took a step back, "You're not a very nice person, you know?" He told her with a deadpan expression.

"Whatever," Shura replied, folding her arms, "I plan on being a powerful pirate, so _being nice_ isn't exactly my top priority," A smirk tugged at her lips.

"Pirate, huh?" Danny mused. He glanced around, "You didn't bring any trouble with you, did you? No bounty hunters or anything?" If she had, the previous tossing around and beating would be forgotten and he'd tell her to get the hell off of his island. He neither wanted nor needed any of that drama…

"…I said I'm _going_ to be a powerful pirate, not yet," Shura told him, blushing a bit, looking a tad sheepish.

"Uh huh…" Danny replied, awkwardly scratching the back of his neck. He glanced around, unsure of what to say next. What was there to say? What could he say to the girl who had tossed him around like a rag doll? Then an idea struck him.

"Well… Goodbye."

"Huh? What did you say?" Shura snapped.

"You just threw me around for no reason," Danny argued, scratching the back of his head, "You think I'm gonna be courteous to you after that, no freakin' way," He crossed his arms over his chest in an 'X', "It's not happenin'... ***Yawn* **so... Goodbye."

"I'm a pirate, do you think I give a damn?!" Shura retorted, taking a couple steps forward and getting face to face with the grey-haired young man. She glared in to his eyes and Danny leaned back, but she leaned forward in turn, so close that the tips of their noses were pressed together. All his bravado had gone in the face of this rather scary girl, "And besides, If I leave, then you're coming with me."

Danny's eyes widened in confusion, "What? No way!"

"Yep!" Shura said, still glaring, but with a smile, "You don't have a choice, Danny D. Grey!"

"It's just Danny Grey!" He corrected her quickly, and then got back to the subject at hand, "And I think I do! You may be very strong and kind of scary…" Her smile widened, "But I'm not gonna be a pirate!"

"Well, you don't have a choice, my grey-haired friend!" Shura said, prodding his chest with enough strength that he was thrown off balance. Shura gave a final soft push and Danny fell on to his rear in the sand. She stood at full height, looking down on him with her arms folded over her chest, "I'll let you in on something. I was at that execution. Ten years ago I was there, hoping that I would get Monkey D. Luffy's hat, that he would choose me to carry on his legacy! But then I saw him put it another kid's head and he walked away…"

Danny's eyebrows rose. He took the hat off his head and looked at it.

"I had it all planned out! Well… As much as a nine year old can plan out her dreams of being a pirate. I would wear that hat with pride and I would have nine crew mates, just like Luffy, and we would become the strongest together! Under the banner of the new Straw Hats!" Shura exclaimed this, she closed her eyes and a wistful smile graced her face, "But… that plan involved _me_ wearing the hat."

"Hey… You can have the hat, Shura… I've got plenty of them. If it means tha – Ahh - Not the face!" Danny whimpered as he was picked up by the scruff of his shirt. He was lifted up until he was eye level with a very angry Shura.

"It's not just a hat that you can freakin' trade!" She snapped at him, "It's supposed to be passed down! That's how it works!"

"And I'm...passing it on to you!" Danny replied quickly, "What's the big deal!?"

"You really are clueless if you have to ask me that!" Shura shouted. He could see the anger in her eyes and it terrified him, "It's a very big deal, okay?! That's not some hat you can just pass around and give to whoever you want, let them borrow or outright give it away!"

"A... C'mon, you're kidding... It's a hat," Danny said with a shaking voice.

"Whenever that hat was passed on to someone, they always went on to do great things... It's been on the heads of two former Pirate Kings and a man who become one of the four Emperors of the Sea!" She set Danny down on his feet but her grip did not slacken in the slightest, "They never handed that hat over to _anyone_, not without good reason and Monkey D. Luffy obviously - even though I can figure out what it is for the life of me - had a reason for giving it to you."

Shura grew quieter as she spoke and she bowed her head to look down at her feet. Danny was hesitant to speak up. He opened his mouth only a little and Shura's head shot up and he could see the fire in her eyes, the renewed vigor, "That hat is a crown! It's a symbol of greatness... And you're wearing it! So until you find someone you want to wear that hat in your stead, it's yours! But first, you have to start your journey to claim that throne! To become Pirate King!"

Danny gave her a deadpan stare, _'A crazy house is missing a patient... I swear...' _He thought, to afraid to voice his opinions.

Shura huffed and puffed, her cheeks tinted red from all the shouting she had been doing and just how angry Danny had made her, "That hat is yours. I respected Monkey D. Luffy more than anyone and I will respect his choice now... Even if it's a guy like you who's wearing his straw hat," She sighed and Danny grumbled underneath his breath, feeling insulted but he didn't have the courage to speak.

"You're freakin' crazy…" Danny grimaced, looking away.

Shura ignored that, and Danny was inwardly thankful for that, "I had planned to start a crew of my own wearing that hat, but when Luffy gave it to you, I decided I'd do the next best thing," She smiled, "I'd make my own crew still, with the famed Straw hat as a member of it!"

"So I'd be your lackey?... Wait wait wait, I still haven't agreed to be a pirate, and I sure as hell won't any time soon!" Danny piped up, but Shura seemed to ignore that as well.

"I had originally planned on being a part of your crew… But seeing as you're just a lazy fisherman bum who sits on an island all of the time, I changed my plans yet again, and I'm really liking this one!" Shura smiled from ear to ear.

"Are you listenin'?" Danny asked her, his face sagging, "C'mon!"

"Welcome to the crew, Danny boy! I'm gonna be Captain until you shape up and take the title for yourself!"

"Uuggh..."

* * *

"Ugh…" Danny groaned to himself, rubbing the reddened spot on his stomach from where he had been dragged over his windowsill by Shura. He pulled out a couple splinters, and he leaned his head back against the wall. He closed his eyes.

"Monkey D. Luffy…" He started, catching Shura's attention, "You called him a king? Uhm… Pirate King? What's that about?" Shura's mouth opened and her eyes widened, "I do remember the guy… Luffy, being called Pirate King, is that a big deal or something?"

"Wow… Have you been living in a cave or something?" Shura asked him, the expression on her face told him she was serious.

"No."

"Then you should know at the very _least_ what the Pirate King is!" Danny merely shook his head in response, "Freakin' hell…"

Shura leaned back in her chair, "The Pirate King… Let's see…" She rubbed her chin thought. Finally, she thought she had come up with a decent, yet simple enough answer that he could understand, "Is exactly as it sounds. The Pirate King is not a real king, but the title given to seemingly the very strongest pirate in existence at the time. It's a title given to the owner of the One Piece."

"One Piece?" Danny received a flick to the forehead for that one.

"Geez, you're a moron!" Shura sighed. Danny just grumbled underneath his breath while he rubbed the already bruising spot on his forehead, "The One Piece is the most magnificent treasure known to mankind. Actually, no one but Gol D. Roger, the first pirate kind and Monkey D. Luffy, and their respective crews, have ever seen the One Piece." A smile spread across her face, "So I went off a guess... And my dreams!"

"Then how does anyone know it still exists? It could've been lost at seen, melted down for a statue, or so – Mmph!" Shura slapped her hand over his mouth, and rather hard at that. Danny stomped his feet, his eyes rolled back slightly before they screwed shut trying to cope with the sharp pain.

"That's the point," Shura stated. She took her hand away, "You've got two kinds of Pirates in this world, you've got the adventurers and the treasure seekers. Almost every pirate in the world is after the One Piece and whether they know its real or not, if its still in that one place where Luffy left it, wherever that is, the mere thought of it drives people to move forward and try to find it. The thought that it may be real, all of the riches, the fame and glory! If One Piece truly is real - and I know it is, I feel it - then it will have been worth it!"

"Sounds like a lot of wasted effort," Danny said.

"You won't be saying that when we're sailing on the wide open seas with a bunch of badasses around us, a bunch of great people that we get to call our crew and our friends!" Shura exclaimed, giving him a thumbs up and flashing him a confident smile. Danny remained stoic.

He opened his mouth to speak but she slapped her hand over his mouth, making his eyes screw shut out of the sharp, stinging pain, "Enough questions!" Shura shouted, leaning back and folding her arms over her chest, "At least about other pirates… I answered all of your stupid questions, now you answer mine! Got it?"

"Yeah yeah…" Danny sighed.

"Do you know Haki of any kind?"

"What's Haki?"

"Have you eaten any Devil Fruit?"

"You mean those cursed fruit… Nah, I like swimming… And I hear they taste like shit."

"Any combat experience?"

"Nope."

"Firearms?"

"Nope."

"Have you ever sailed to another island before this one?" When Danny opened his mouth to speak, she quickly added on to her question, "And the mainland doesn't count!"

"Oh – Then no."

The silver haired girl closed her eyes. She tried to picture happy thoughts, but in the presence of such a moron, such an infuriating moron that knew next to nothing about the world around him, was making that difficult for her. She put her face in her hands, _'How can this be happening? Luffy must've chosen him for a reason… Right? He… He wasn't the brightest guy, but… C'mon!' _

Shura peeked between her fingers, and Danny had fallen asleep, "This… This guy is gonna die." Luffy had made his decision though. Sure, he wasn't the brightest, but he hardly ever did anything this important without some reason behind, if those story books she had read were any indication. She'd have to go with it.

"All right!" Shura stood up quickly. Danny was surprised by the sudden movement, nearly falling backwards in his chair. She caught him by the front of his shirt though, "As acting first mate of our crew, I hereby relieve you of your Captain's duties until such time when you can lead our crew yourself!"

Danny rapidly shook his head from side to side, "Uh uh! Uh uh! You've got it really twisted! I never agr –Ack!" Shura pulled him to a headlock, a tight one at that. It was becoming increasingly more difficult for him to breath…

"We're gonna make an awesome team you and I! When you learn how to fight that is – Oh man, I can picture it now - pirates and marines quaking in their boots at the sight of the new Straw Hat Pirates!"

"You're insane!"

"You can't make it far in the pirate world by being a little insane!" Shura replied, tightening her hold around his neck, "We're gonna do this! I'll be right be your side, Danny! And… I can't believe I'm saying this…" Danny had tuned the silver haired girl out, opting to focus on maintaining his breathing while trapped in her headlock that was slowly crushing his airways. He felt his head begin to tighten when she finally let him go.

He inhaled heavily and he tried to take a step back, to get away from the crazy strong girl, but she grabbed him by his shoulders and pulled him forward so that they were practically nose to nose. A red blush rose to his cheeks as she looked him the eyes.

"_You_, Danny D. Grey, are gonna be King of the Pirates!"

* * *

**Yeah, that happened. **

**It's always the one character to exclaim they're gonna be King of the Pirates, I wanted to switch it up a bit! Eh? She wanted to start a crew of her won with that hat on her head, but since she can't do that, the next best thing is to make a crew for the Straw Hat and have adventures with it!  
**

**Shura has her reasons for not accepting the hat and maybe they're not clear now, or maybe they are. I thought it was kind of middle ground when I wrote and read it over myself. It'll be elaborated on more in the future.**

**Until next time.**


	3. Chapter 3

**Back with chapter 3. I hope you guys enjoy it **

* * *

"You think we've got enough food?" Shura asked him, taking a bite from the apple in her hand.

"Sure, but it's gonna go bad in a few days," Danny replied. His eyes were closed, his face was red, he was trying to concentrate on rowing the boat. Shura had decided to use the small dinghy that he used to go between his little island and the mainland to travel to their first destination, which she had yet to tell him about, not that he was all that interested, but he'd at least like to know how long he'd be doing this.

She tossed him in to the small boat, gave him the oars and told him to get them to the mainland. There she stocked up on fruit, bread and some drinks. It took a bit of bartering, some convincing on Shura's part and trading most of the fish and coconuts he had stored away, but they managed to get food enough for the both of them for the next few days.

Then she tossed him to the small boat again and told him to start rowing. He did it, no arguments.

She shrugged, "It won't take us that long to reach our destination… We'll be fine!"

"I feel…. Like… I'll regret… asking this… but… Where… are we… going?" Danny asked, grunting in between words while he rowed them further out to see.

"Well… We… are going… to… an island," Shura replied mockingly, grunting in a deeper tone like Danny did, "Haha! You sound like you're gonna die!"

"I… Might!" Danny replied, "This… is not… the labor… I'm used to… We're… weighed down… with food… and… you… are not… exactly … li -"

"Finish that sentence," Danny opened his eyes when he was cut off and reeled back seeing the death glare Shura had trained on him. Her eyes were half-lidded and… dead? The light was gone, faded out. She had one cheek rested I nthe palm of her hand, the one not holding her apple. A shudder lightly rocked his body, he couldn't contain it.

"Uh… Uhm…" He started to sweat.

"I'm not exactly… _what?" _Shura asked him, curling the toes one of her feet and popping them. Danny winced.

"Nothing… I mean… Nevermind…" Danny murmured, lowering his head in a submissive manner. He didn't want to make eye contact with her at the moment… or ever again. He never wanted to see that expression again.

"Good…" She smirked. Her eyes went back to their natural red shade. Finishing off of her apple with a couple large bites, she tossed the core in to the ocean. She grabbed her duffle bag and rummaged through it for a moment, "Listen up, Danny, cause I'm about to tell you about our new crew."

Danny glanced up for a second. He saw she wasn't giving him that menacing glare anymore and he raised his head completely, "Our crew?"

"Yeah! I told you, we're the new Straw Hat pirates! You obviously don't have any dreams of being a pirate, so I can use my ideas and we're set!" Danny deadpanned. She was living her dreams through him. "First we'll need a swordsman! He doesn't _have_ to be like Roronoa Zoro, three-sword style and all, but badass is a _must_ have! And the more swords the better, but one is fine!"

"Uhm…" Danny stopped rowing for a moment to raise his hand, "Couple questions."

Shura rolled her eyes, "What? You don't know who Roronoa Zoro is either?"

"Yeah," He replied bluntly. Shura's right eye twitched. She was torn. Did she violently attack him for knowing nothing about anything? Or… did she feel sorry for him?

"Have you… Have you _legitimately_ been living under a rock for the past… two decades?" She asked him, massaging the bridge of her nose.

"Nah, I lived a kind of sheltered life… I sheltered myself," Danny replied, "So, Rowo… Ro – Geez, how did it go again?"

"Ro – ro – noa, Roronoa Zoro," Shura told him, "The Greatest Swordsman in the World. The slayer of Dracule Mihawk – Ask me who that is and I'm throwing you to the North Blue," She said, shooting him a quick glare. Danny bit his bottom lip and he shrugged, "The stories said he was great man… The author… Authoress? Ah well, it was a woman, and she seemed pretty fond of him, from certain details and all."

"Who was the author?" Danny asked her, "I might have to read these books of yours. You might force me anyway."

"You're not wrong about that – You need to bulk up your body and brain, especially if you're going to be the Captain of this badass crew," Shura said, giving his arm a gentle jab that was not so gentle to Danny. He forced down the yelp of pain and made a mental note to check his arm for any kind of fracture or break.

"The author was Nico Robin, she wrote about all of the crew's adventures… Some of the best-selling books out there, hehe," Shura titled her head back and stared up at the sky, "One grand battle after the next… Alabasta, Skypiea, Sakura Kingdom… And so many more," A smile graced her lips as she let out a wistful sigh.

"You really like these Straw Hat pirates, don't you?" Danny asked.

"You're damn right, I do!" Shura exclaimed, "Monkey D. Luffy, hearing about all the amazing stuff he did, made me want to be a pirate! More than anything, I wanted to sail the open seas with a badass crew behind me, me as their Captain of course!"

"If he was so great, then he inspired a lot of other pirates to do the same thing, right?" Shura nodded her head, not saying a word, "You said a lot of people were after One Piece?"

"Yeah…" Shura said wistfully, "It's gonna make for some fun times, for me, you and for the whole crew as we bring them aboard!" She grinned from ear to ear. Danny didn't want to think about what went on in her head. He shook his head, but kept his mouth shut. Things would be easier if he just let he talk and said nothing.

"You…" He paused and sighed, "You uhm… Never explained the crew part... Anyone specific in mind?"

"Oh yeah!" Shura brought her fist down in to her palm, remembering that herself, "Our swordsman! They're the first one on my list to bring on to our crew!"

Danny stopped rowing for a moment and worked his shoulders and arms, sore from the constant rowing, "You have no idea where we're going, do you?" He received a sharp slap to his forehead, the force of it making him reel back, "…Ow!" He held his forehead with both hands.

"That's where you're wrong, smartass," Shura replied with a rather cocky smirk, "I told you! I've had my mind set on being a pirate for years! And over those years, I've been making plans! I know exactly what kind of people I want, what positions I want filled and, in some cases, exactly where to go to find them!"

This was a surprise. Danny removed his hands and winced and hissed at the sudden stinging sensation when it was met by the cool, salty sea air. It hurt, but it was more soothing than having his hands on it, "Well… Where are we going?"

Shura brought out a rolled up paper and opened it up inches from his face, "Zabba Island! The floating prison!"

"Floating… Prison?" Danny paled. The first word was fine. Boats floated on the water. He was fine with boats. The second...

"By 'prison'… you mean?" He drew out the last word, expecting her to elaborate.

"I mean it's an island where murderers, rapists, extremists against the World Government, who aren't all that bad if you think about it - and a lot of other deplorable people are dropped off and left there for the rest of their days."

Danny paled further. He audibly gulped. His adam's apple bounced, the lump in his throat being difficult to swallow, "That sounds… awful."

Shura shook her head, "Doesn't matter, it's where we have to go! The Lightning Demon will be a member of our crew! No will never be taken for an answer! And if they say no, then we'll just make them come with us!" Shura placed her left hand on her right bicep, flexing and making a fist. She could certainly be persuasive, that was for sure.

"_They?_ … You don't even know their gender?"

"When you're short on cash and resorting to more drastic measures, Info Brokers are a lot less forthcoming with the really good info, but it got me what I need," Shura said, grabbing another apple and taking a bite. Danny deadpanned, a drop of sweat hanging over his head.

'_Wonderful… How many people did this girl piss off?' _How many people had she asked for information regarding him? How many people had information on him for that matter? Danny paled. If the Straw Hat was such a target on his back, how many people could be after him right now?

'_I officially hate this hat… And her… If she weren't so damn hot, I'd jump out of this boat right freakin' now," _Maybe he could take his boat back in the middle of the night and head back home? It was wishful thinking…

Shura turned her back on him and bent forward slightly, using one hand as a canopy over her eyes to block out the harsh light of the sun. Danny couldn't help but admire the view for himself. And then he turned to look out over the ocean.

"Ah… No little islands to stop at, but we can stop for a little while and eat."

"Good, you can row when we start moving again" Danny grumbled, letting go of the oars to massage his arms.

Shura peered over her shoulder, "Was that a command just now?" Danny froze. That same chill passed through him. He didn't want to look up for fear of meeting those same dead eyes. What he didn't expect was Shura to laugh. His head snapped up, and there she was chuckling to herself, "Be a little demanding when you become, Captain. This badass crew won't respect you if you sound like that. And next time, say please, or I'll deck you."

"I'm a pirate now, please isn't in my vocabulary."

"You're a quick learner."

* * *

_***Flashback***_

_It was so long ago. I remember being really tired… But I always was, still am, so it was nothing new there. But that day was different… It felt odd…_

_Sadder? Gloomier? Wait… Aren't they the same thing? Ah… Never mind… I'm getting off track, but that's the gist of what that day felt like._

_I remember the clouds being really dark in the sky… and rain. Rain was nothing new, but today it was different, or it felt different anyway, I can't explain it well… There was a large crowd near my place and oddly enough, I was interested enough to actually go over there and check it out. I did just that._

_I pushed through the legs of the adults and managed to make my way to the front. All of that energy I used… I was really tired. I remember having to lean against some post that was next to me for support. Why it was there I didn't know..._

_I looked both ways down the long street and saw there were dozens, maybe hundreds of people there looking in the same direction. I looked there as well and I noticed marines wearing their decorative white coats, their medals and they held their rifles that were taller than me leaning against their shoulders._

_Each one of them held on to black chain that lead to a man's cuffs. There were maybe six… seven Navy officers around this one guy. Then I figured out what was going on. They were heading to the gallows._

_I don't really remember his face… With the rain and all… and on top of that I was feeling really tired. But there were a couple details that stuck with me. He had a scar running under his left eye and for some reason, despite that he was probably going to die, he was grinning. From ear to ear. _

_The walk was pretty quiet. The marines' boots hit the cobblestone road, any loose metals jingled and then there was the rain. The soft, lulling pitter patter it made was always soothing… I really wanted to sleep._

_My head lulled and … Boy, were my eyelids heavy. I remember hearing the footsteps stop. I could kind of tell that there was a shadow over me… I heard people murmuring and before I knew what happened, something was on my head, my eyes were covered up and things went dark. It wasn't a bag or anything; I knew I wasn't being kidnapped…_

_I knew I wanted to sleep more than anything, but instead I looked up and there was that prisoner guy looking down at me. He was struck by the Marines on his back but he didn't even flinch. If it were possible… And I doubt it was… His grin widened._

"_Good luck, kid, Shishishishi," Was all he said to me. What a weird laugh… shi shi shi? Meh…_

_And with a quick shove from a couple of Navy officers at the rear of their group and some tugs from the ones leading him, the guy was pulled towards the gallows. I took the thing off of my head and looked at it. A simple straw hat with a red band… It looked old, worn. It was stitched up in places and lighter colored in others, like the straw was replaced and mended or something. It must've been through a lot…_

_I thought 'Who would treat a hat like that?' They're supposed last awhile and all that…_

_I remember putting it back on my head to keep my head dry and I looked up from under it to see the guy already climbing the stairs to the top of the gallows. Across the street I saw people looking at me… Which was weird, most people ignored me and let me be, I was a kid. They seemed to be… Glaring at me? It was weird, but I just yawned and started for home. I may have been lazy but that didn't mean I was going to go to sleep near some execution grounds. Not with people glaring and certainly not when I had a warm bed at home._

_I remember hearing two words as I walked away before the crowd was whipped in to a frenzy over something not even a few seconds later._

'_Pirate King'_

* * *

"And that's it," Danny said, leaning back and looking up at the evening sky as a few noisy seagulls flew overhead, "It makes a bit more sense I guess, why they were so angry… ***Yawn*** Now I know what that whole Pirate King thing is."

"That was so boooooring!" Shura whined, "You weren't filled with wonder or anything? It's the Pirate King's hat for Poseidon's sake! Geez!"

Danny took a bite out of a loaf of bread and looked over the edge of the boat down at his own reflection in the water's surface, "I didn't know what was back then. It was a straw hat, nothing more, nothing less."

"Yeah? Well it's so much more than that, and now you know!"

He didn't respond, just looked up at the sky. A few hours ago, he was a fisherman. Not even a good one at that, he just brought in a few lucky hauls now and again, but usually had to make them last for quite a while. Now he was a pirate, miles away from the little island home he knew and loved, out on the open sea with a crazy, hot girl, with emphasis on the crazy, sailing off to gather a pirate crew.

He was a pirate now.

"Shura…" He sighed.

"What?"

"I'm… I'm going to sleep… Wake me up…" He closed his eyes, putting the hat over his face to block out most of the light, "Wake me up… ***Yawn* **when… something happens." He really hoped nothing happened. It was wishful thinking…

* * *

**End. **

We have basically a set-up chapter for what's going to happen. We see Shura's got a plan surprisingly enough, and I feel the most important part of it, Danny's recollection of that day. Shura wasn't too impressed though…

Until next time.


	4. Chapter 4

**And I'm here with chapter 4. **

**Not too much to say, other than we're getting a bit action this chapter. **

_'Italics' - 'Thoughts'  
_

* * *

"DannyDannyDanny! WAKE UP!"

"Aagh – Fuck! What – Whoa!" The loudest screams he had ever heard awoke him from his peaceful slumber. His eyes shot open, only to be screwed shut almost immediately. He was moving fast and the cool air stung his eyes. He peeked open one teary eye and saw Shura with eyes wide and a grin spread across her face paddling like her life depended on it.

Her tremendous strength made great waves in the wave of the oars as they propelled them through the water. They hit a wave and the peak of its movement and jumped in to the air. Danny yelped as he felt the boat move from underneath him and for a few seconds he was in the air before he came down hard on the water.

"Oh geez! Shura, wha – Ugh…" He stopped mid-sentence. Shura seemed… different.

Her eyes were wide, almost manic looking and bloodshot to boot. She was grinning from ear to ear, not that she hadn't done that before, but he noticed something. Her teeth were dirtied with small brown stains. He sniffed at the air, _'Coffee?' _

"Uhm… Shura? Shura!" He cupped his hands around his mouth, trying to shout over the sound the splashing water, "Shura! Oy!"

"What is it? What do ya want? What what what?" She shouted back, talking rapidly, "I'm tryin' to focus here, dumbass! Focus focus focus!" It he thought it possible, he could've sworn Shura's rowing had sped up.

"What are you doing? What's wrong with you?"

"You know exactly what I'm doing!" She replied, "What a stupid question! Stupid, really stupid! I thought you were a moron before – Oh man, those coffee beans _really_ give you an energy boost! Kind of crunchy and bitter, but _WOO!_ I could go for DAYS!" The moment she screamed they hit another wave and bounced up in to the air. Danny hit the deck hard and he scrambled to grab their sacks of food and finally laid his body on top of everything as gently as he possibly could.

"Shura! We're gonna lose the food!" Danny screamed.

"We're goin' to an island, Danny Boy! Hahaha! There'll be plenty of food! Plenty – PLENTY!" Shura screamed in reply. She threw her head back and laughed manically.

"SHURA! LAND! LAAAAAND!"

"Yaaaahhhoooo!"

* * *

**Moments Later...**

Shura had beached them. She rowed at such a fast pace with such force that she pushed the boat through the sand as though it were water for a few seconds. And now they were beached on a prison island.

"I'm… gonna be… ill," Danny groaned, climbing over the side of the boat and falling on to his side in the sand, "Oh… Oh shiiiit…" He groaned, burying his face in to the sand.

Shura leaped over his prone form and landed in a crouch with her knees bent. She jumped up and down a couple times and then performed a backflip, "Ooookay! Let's go, let's go, Let's gooooo!~" She shouted in a sing song voice. She picked Danny up by the back of his shirt and tossed him up in to the air.

"Aagh – Oof!" Danny landed on all fours, just barely stopping his face from going in to the sand, "Ah, Shura! What the he – Ack!" He was pulled up by the back of his shirt again and pulled on to his feet.

"C'mooooonn, Danny! Get the lead out of your shorts! We gotta move move move! We gotta find that Lightning Demon! Oh man, it's gonna be so cool if we get a real demon to be a part of our crew, don't you think?"

Danny watched Shura do back-flips, front-flips, cartwheels and all sorts of acrobatic feats. She zipped around the beach, staying in place never more than a second or two. He just stood in place, shaking his head in disbelief, "Dammit, Shura…"

He started at a steady pace, trying to stay within yelling distance at the very least. He stopped mid-step and his eyes widened. His eyes shifted to look over to his right in the direction of the forest while he remained stalk still. Bushes rustled and he could see faint figures moving in the darkness of the canopy the tall trees made.'

'_Uh oh… Stay calm… Don't panic… Maybe it's a… boar! A boar… or something… Certainly not human! Yeah…' _

Several human figures appeared at the edge of the forest's darkness. He could see the gleam in their eyes, their teeth as they grinned. He paled and a bead of sweat formed at his temple, slowly starting to roll down his head to the end of his chin, "Oh… Shit…"

"Hey, looky here… Fresh meat…" Four men emerged. All of them muscular, hairy, dirtied and scarred. They wore tattered clothing that clung to their skin. One of them stood tall above all of them, easily three or four heads taller than his accomplices.

"Check out that silver hair!" One of them exclaimed, "Ah, some of the boys will love that! We'll eat like kings for weeks!"

"What about the scrawny one?"

"Eh, eat him… Something, don't damage the girl too much!"

"Right!" the rest of them exclaimed.

Danny paled and his jaw dropped, "Oh… F – Crap!" He quickly changed his mind, not wanting a pour choice of words to put him in even hotter water. He took a few steps back and began to slowly sidle to his right, in the direction of the boat. Maybe he could make it…

"Let's Go!" Shura exclaims, springing forward and closing the distance between herself and the four prisoners in the blink of an eye. Danny indeed blinked and the next moment Shura was in mid-air. She whirled around and her foot connected with the side of one of their heads. His bones gave under the force of her attack and a loud crack resonated from the impact, loud enough to even reach Danny's ears.

He was sent flying down the beach in to a grouping of bramble bushes.

"Aagh!" The largest of them lunged at her and Shura turned on him with a wide grin and manic eyes. His eyes widened in shock and fear and he tried to stop his attack. It was too late. Shura had grabbed one of his large arms with both hands before he had any time to think. She pulled him forward, and spun on her heels, "Whoa!"

She spun him around like he was some child. Swinging the large man around made the other two duck out, looking to avoid being hit by their accomplice who was being used as a flail. Without warning she let go. He flew through the air and hit the sand hard once gravity took over. He continued sliding away from them for a few seconds even after he hit the ground, leaving a rather long trench in his wake.

"Holy shit!"

"And I thought that sword guy was a monster!"

The two of them turned on their heels and made for the forest, unwilling to fight this girl with monstrous strength. They were stopped in their tracks, and for a moment their legs kept moving. They were picked up off of the ground a second later.

"I don't think soooo!~" Shura exclaimed in a sing-song voice.

Danny winced. Shura bashed their heads together and let the pair fall on to the sand with a thud. She looked to her right and he did so as well. The big guy was getting up. Shura wasn't waiting around. She dashed at the large prisoner full speed and she leaped in to the air. She brought her knees to her chest and then thrust both feet forward, hitting him square between his shoulder blades with a powerful drop kick.

He was sent rocketing down the beach. He struck a particularly thick tree and bounced off it, disappearing in to the forest with a few more dull thuds.

"Damn…" Danny murmured, "I thought normal Shura was scary."

He blinked and Shura was racing toward him. Before he knew she had passed him by and on the way grabbed hi, by the back of his shirt. He was being pulled along, his feet unable to touch the sand at the speed she was going.

"Aagh! Slow down, will ya!" Danny shouted, holding on to her arm to make sure he wasn't left in the dust.

"No time! Gotta find him! Gotta gotta gotta find Raiki! RAIKI!" Shura yelled at the top of her lungs, "RAIKI! Danny, help me! RAIKI!"

'_Wonderful, attract more attention… Fuck, she's gonna get me killed!' _

* * *

'_Bullshit… This is bullshit!' _Danny thought. Not even ten minutes had passed since they arrived. Shura sped off, racing ahead of him. He jogged after her, but finally decided to slow down, thinking that the girl hoped up on coffee beans would circle the entire island in no time. She'd probably show up behind him not even winded…

That's what he had thought. That is until he stumbled upon her, just standing in the middle of the beach, swaying on the spot. He walked in front of her and was surprised to see half-lidded eyes. She was staring off in to space with a blank expression, murmuring to herself random things.

With a snap of his fingers she did come back to reality, but she was tired. He knew the signs when he saw them.

Which lead to now: Him supporting her with one hand on her hip and the other holding her hand while she had her arm around his shoulders.

'_We'll never get anywhere at this rate…' _He inwardly sighed and outwardly yawned. He couldn't afford to sleep though; they were on a prison island after all. Any number of goons could ambush them at any moment. He had scared himself just a bit with that though…

'_I don't think Shura made too much noise… Hopefully.' _

"Danny… I'm sleepy… Stop moving so much," She groaned. Shura yawned loudly and Danny stumbled under the added weight as her body started to go slack.

"Nonono! Do not go dead weight on me… Please… Shura!" He had shouted just loud enough to snap the silver haired girl awake. She shot up and nearly threw Danny aside, but he kept a tight enough grip on her that she couldn't.

"Ah… We're still here…" She yawned again, "Did we… Did we find that ***Yawn* **Swords…man…" She started to drift off yet again.

"No..." Danny grumbled, "And we're not gonna if you fall asleep... C'mon..." It was no use. Shura had fallen fast asleep, lightly snoring. Danny grunted and tried to move while supporting Shura's deadweight, but he found himself stumbling around every few steps, "No use," He sighed. Perhaps they'd try again tomorrow. A sudden rustling in the forest caught his attention. He froze and without moving glanced over to the area where the noise came from...

Several bushes rustled, trees creaked and branches snapped. He remembered where they were at that moment - on a prison island. Filled with dangerous criminals who've committed every heinous act under the sun and then some. He could only imagine the kinds of wild beasts that live on the island as well, "Shura... Shura! We gotta go! Wake up!" Danny started to shake the silver haired girl. Against his better judgment, but all for the sake of getting out of his horrible situation alive, he grabbed Shura by her shoulders and shook her more, hitting her against the sandy beach.

"Shu! Ra! Wake! Up!" He unceremoniously dropped her body on to the sand. He growled and grabbed both sides of her head - He headbutted her.

...

...

...

"Aaag - Oooooww!" Danny fell back, clutching his head, "Ffffuuuck!" He rolling around in the sand and flailing his feet.

"Look at this..." He stopped with his back to the forest, eyes wide open, "One of them said somethin' about a silver haired girl and a scrawny kid... She looks nice... Real nice."

"We could something for that scrawny kid to do..."

Danny paled. Bile rose in his throat with the lump and he forcibly swallowed both. He didn't dare look over his shoulder to see how many there are. He really didn't want to know. _'Shit... Shit! Think... Uhm... I could leave Shura! They might not even want me...' _

He could hear them approaching. He kept his breathing shallow, hoping that they wouldn't see the subtle rising and falling. Maybe they would think he was sleeping - Which would work to his advantage. Those scum would obviously go for a sleeping Shura and then drag him along if they decided to go back to... Wherever. He wanted to curl up in to a ball in case they decided to beat him, but that would work against his escape plan...

It was now or never!

"What's with all the noise?"

_'SHIT! There's more!' _He screamed in his mind, physically paling. He stopped moving - right in the middle of getting up.

"What the fuck are you doing here, eh, Demon?" One of them men shouted. He was up anyway, Danny decided to look. There were five in total and one of them was huge! He looked about the same size as the man from before, the one that Shura kicked across the beach. There was a sixth man, but he was dressed in a tattered blue cloak. The only visible parts of him were his legs, partially covered by tattered pants, and his right arm, with which he held a wooden sword.

He had a carrier filled with a dozen or more wooden swords, _'This guy is armed to the teeth!' _Danny thought. But it was still five on one, the odds weren't in his favor.

"I heard my name... Wanted to see what that was about... Now I find you all on my beach."

"Urm... Uhm... We're just..." One of them stuttered, but he was slapped on the back of the head by another one of them..

"There's strength in numbers! Kill'im!" He shouted, brandishing a crudely made stone tomahawk wrapped to a sturdy stick with green vines.

The hooded figure turned the bokken around in his hand so that the cutting edge was facing forward like the wielder. He drew his arm back until his arm and sword were parallel with sand. He turned his body slightly. Taking a step forward, he swung in an upside down arc.

A thin trail of sand followed after the tip of the wooden sword. A second later a much larger wave burst forth and engulfed the four attackers. The cloud of dust and smoke engulfed the hooded swordsman as well, "Too slow..." A moment before he disappeared.

'_Did… Did I hear that right?' _Had that swordsman just accused those thugs of being slow?

A powerful wind blew past them both and the smoke cloud was split down the middle. Danny's mouth dropped in shock. Three of them were in the air, their skin bruised and welting already. The hooded swordsman was behind them, still on the ground, now in a kneeling position with his arm stretched out to his side, holding the handle of his wooden sword, but the blade portion was no longer there.

'_The hell?' _Danny thought. The three prisoners that were airborne came down with heavy thuds. Small splinters rained down around them, _'Was that…?' _

"Damn… There goes another one," The swordsman tossed the handle away and reached back for the hilt of another one in the pack on his back.

"We've got you!" The other three exclaimed, surrounding the swordsman from three directions from behind. They piled on top of him and there didn't seem to be any struggling from the swordsman.

'_That ends that… Oh crap… They're gonna turn on us!' _Danny thought. He tore his attention away from the skirmish in front of him and quickly sat Shura down and began to shake the silver-haired girl by her shoulders. He slapped her cheeks twice each, "Wake! Up! Wake! Up! Now! We're! Gonna! Die!" Danny yelled, emphasizing each word with a slap to one of Shura's cheeks until they were both bright red, "Shura!"

"Uggh… Uhh… Danny… Fuck off," She slurred, her head lulling to one side. He deadpanned.

'_She find the energy to insult me? Wonderful…' _He turned his attention back to the swordsman. He hoped that the hooded swordsman had turned the tides, but he was doubtful. His eyes widened as he saw he was proven both right and wrong.

The swordsman was standing with his back to the final three unconscious thugs.

'_Wh – When?! How?! H – Holy shit! This guy is fast! He knocked them all out in no time!' _

The figure tossed away his second bokken, cracked at the center of the blade and slowly falling apart. He hefted the pack on to his back and turned toward him. Danny froze. His shaking stopped entirely.

"What was with the screaming? Why were you calling my name so loudly?"

Danny's eyebrows rose, "We were… Looking for a guy named Raiki.. N -" He stopped talking, mouth gaping mid-speech. He slowly shut his mouth and audibly gulped, "You… You're Raiki… Aren't you?" This man was fast, and skilled with a sword. It may have been a wooden sword, but he knocked out people several times his size and several times stronger in just a few seconds. Shura was out cold, snoring.

Without a word he raised his hand to lower his hood, and then he spoke, "Yeah, so what do you want?"

* * *

**End. **

They've found who they're looking for at least. Easier than expected. But how will the conversation go down?

Next time.


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5 **

* * *

"_Were you two the ones shouting 'Raiki' earlier?" It was a simple question he asked and Danny nodded his head in response, "What do you want?"_

"_Uh… Uhm… You're… Raiki?" The hooded figure wordlessly flipped his bokken around and slid it in to the carrier along with the others. He dropped his ragged hood to reveal his face, a head of messy black hair._

"_Yeah, so what do you want?"_

* * *

Danny looked over his shoulder at the setting sun, halfway hidden by the horizon of the sea. The bright light became a bit too much and turned back to watch the crackling fire in front of him. There was a light chill in the air and the heat of the fire was definitely helping to knock off the chill.

His eyes went to Shura was on her back, limbs and hair splayed out. Her chest rose and fell with her loud snoring. If they ever did get a large ship of their own, he'd have to make sure to sleep far from her if he wanted to sleep at all.

"So," Danny visibly flinched. He had almost forgotten that it wasn't just he and Shura there. He glanced up for a brief second at the black-haired stranger. He plopped down on to the sand across from him and poked at the kindling with a thin stick, "What do you want?"

"H – Huh?"

Raiki looked up from the fire, "What do you want? You don't go shouting someone's name for nothing."

"Well… Uh…" Danny rubbed the back of his neck, "It's her who wants to ask you something, I honestly forgot why we're here in the first place."

Raiki just stared at him, silent, for a few seconds longer and then focused his attention on the fire. He sighed, closed his eyes and he stood up. Danny watched him warily and he planted his feet in to the sand. He couldn't run away, but he could sure try and dodge. He'd just have to be ready to move…

Raiki brought one his bokken out of the carrier and moved toward them, "Whoa whoa!" Danny scurried back, "We're not gonna cause trouble… I mean… We did – But not anymore!" He quickly added. He clapped his hands together, "Take her, I'll leave! Never hear from me again, I swear!"

Raiki paused and he looked down at Danny, "You'd leave a sleeping girl… on a prison island," Danny winced at that, "I don't think you want to know what they've done to the women that were sent here or got stranded, do you?"

Danny looked around. Anywhere he could look, trying to focus on something so that he didn't have to look Raiki in the eyes, but he could still feel the swordsman's gaze on him, "She's… tough… Really tough… I've seen it, she can handle… h – herself… *Ahem*" He cleared his throat. There was nothing else he could think of to say.

"… I'm sure she'd like to hear that…" Danny rounded on Raiki.

"Oh! Whoa, hang on… We – We don't … You don't have to do that! It was a jo -" The swordsman flipped his wooden sword around so that he was holding it with the point facing behind him. He raised his arm and the tip was pointing down, centered with Shura's stomach. He never had time to finish speaking. Raiki stabbed the sword downward, jabbing Shura in her stomach.

Her eyes shot up and she shot up, rolling on to her side to hack up spittle and viscous flem, "Ah, Dammit!" She hissed, rubbing the spot he had hit, "What was that?" She looked over at Danny and the grey-haired young man immediately pointed behind her.

Shura peered over her shoulder and her eyes traveled up the pair of legs she saw. He wore tattered black and faded pants, a partially open, torn and dirtied white dress shirt, a tattered and torn brown traveling cloak that was partially covering his right side. Finally she came to his face. He had sharp features, tired looking eyes, stubble around his chin. A head of messy black hair.

"Who the hell are you?" Shura asked him, slowly rising to her feet and standing up to her full height. She was still a head taller than her.

"You already know," He responded, shouldering his bokken. Shura rose an eyebrow and titled her head slightly. She was quick; Shura bent her legs, slid one foot back across the sand in front of her to better her stance and she swung upwards with an uppercut.

Danny flinched. A sharp crack almost like thunder reached his ears. He had blinked when Shura lashed out, and in that instant he must've missed it. Shura's arm was fully outstretched, a few inches from Raiki's chin. Raiki stood there, unblinking. He had he even flinched?

Danny glanced down and he was holding a handle of one of his bokken, but the blade had broken off. A moment later he saw where the rest had gone - A small chunk of the blade portion that was still intact was the first to fall down on to the sand followed by a thousands of small splinters and tiny chunks.

'_Whoa… Did he… Did he just counter Shura? She broke his sword though, so... Did she win?,' _Danny thought. He looked at Shura and she appeared uninjured. Out of the corner of his eye he noticed something. He focused on her hand and his eyes widened. '_Blood!'_

That was blood! Shura's hand was bleeding!

Shura withdrew her bleeding hand and held it with her free hand and popped a couple of his fingers, "Probably would've cut my forearm down the middle had that been a real sword," she commented, feeling her fingers, "Just a small cut and some fractures…"

A smile spread across her face a second later, her injuries forgotten, "That was fast! Amazing! You're definitely the Lightning Demon! You're Raiki, for sure!" She exclaimed, pointing at him with her injured hand.

"I could'a told you that…" He replied, a deadpan expression on his face.

"I had to make sure! The rumors said you were as fast as lightning! If you blinked then whoever was watching would miss your movements and whoever was fighting you'd be dead before their injuries even showed!"

'_Huh, rumors turn out to be true. Who'd have guessed it…' _Danny thought, yawning on the outside.

The three of them sat around the fire, Danny making sure to stay a bit close to Shura in case things went south. Raiki was busy cooking a skinned and gutted boar, placed on man-made rotary and being slowly rolled over to cook. Having eaten nothing but bread and fruit, the smell of the cooking meat was tantalizing.

His stomach rumbled. He thought about the food back at the boat…

'_We… We left all of our food back at the boat…' _Shura wasn't going to be happy about it, if what he was thinking was true.

"Hey, mind sharing some of that?" Danny asked him.

"Yeah, I do," Raiki replied, keeping his eyes on the slowly spinning boar. Danny sweatdropped.

'_Stingy jerk…' _He turned to Shura and jerked his head in Raiki's direction. He was at least polite, but maybe that wasn't the right approach. Shura wordlessly reached for one of the legs, aiming to tear it off, but there was a loud crack. Raiki had struck her hand with another bokken, breaking the wooden sword over her knuckles.

"Aw, geez!" She winced, withdrawing her hand and holding it close to her chest, "That hurt, you ass!"

"Don't touch my food, get your own," Raiki bluntly replied. The both of them sweatdropped now. This man was serious about his food, "So," That got their attention, "What do you want?"

"I'm looking for a swordsman to join our pirate crew!" Shura exclaimed.

'_Out with it immediately? All right then…' _Danny thought to himself. He didn't much feel like being beaten for voicing his opinion.

Raiki stood up and dusted off his pants, not that there was much to beat off. He walked over to one of the elephant ear plants and tore off a couple of its leaves. He came back over to them and set them down, and then walked off yet again to a coconut tree and he started to kick it.

Danny leaned toward Shura, "Uhm… Are you sure about this? He's… odd."

"You're one to talk," Shura responded, shoving him away, pushing him a few feet away from her, "And I can't either. You're a lazy bum who's completely clueless about the world and I'm super strong. That's odd."

'_She's… not wrong about it," _He thought, scratching the back of his head. He'd let the shove slide, too tired to really argue and too worried for his safety at the same time. He made his way back over to the fire at the same time Raiki did.

"No," He stated bluntly, cracking one of the coconuts, "Ooh, boar's done," He said offhandedly, using a jagged stone knife to cut one of the boar's legs from the body. He immediately tore in to it, a large portion of it gone in two large bites.

Shura was on her feet in a second, "Why the hell not?" She shouted, "Being a pirate would definitely better than wasting away on this stupid island!" Raiki wasn't fazed. He just continued to eat in silence.

He swallowed, "Well…" He took another bite out of the leg, chewed and swallowed, annoying Shura slightly. She opened her mouth to speak when he beat her to it, "I shouldn't say no… It depends actually."

"On what?" Danny asked him.

Raiki set the almost barren bone on to the colocasia leaf and let out a loud belch, patting his stomach, "I'll tell you what I told the other crew that came looking for me," Danny looked toward Shura who had started to shout at Raiki, but the black-haired swordsman outright ignored her, "Bring me a chef. They make me whatever I want and if I like their cooking, then I'll join you, as long as that chef is a part of your crew too."

"Why can't we make something for you? – Danny, make something for him!" Shura shouted, grabbing Danny by his shoulder and tossing him on to the sand near Raiki.

"Like… what? – Pfft! Ugh!" Danny shouted, spitting out a mix of saliva and sand.

Raiki sipped from half of a coconut, "You can make whatever," He let out another belch, "As long as it's good food, then I'm as good as yours. I say chef because… you know, they usually know how to cook."

"Danny, c'mon!" Shura whined, "If we have to leave to find a chef, that other crew could steal him from us! Look at him!" Shura gestured to the black-haired swordsman who sat there, disinterested, staring blankly at the ocean, "That blank stare! That fast sword skills! Who knows what he could do with all those bokken, that's like… twelve sword style!"

"I can only use the one at a time," Raiki interjected, taking another sip from his coconut, "I have so many because I'm a shitty craftsman. Professionally made bokken could handle my speed. These are shit…"

"Well, whatever!" Shura shouted, "Make somethin', Danny! He is _perfect_ for this crew! _Please!_"

Danny heaved out a sigh, "Just… drag him to the ship or somethin'…" Danny shrugged, "That sounds like a lot of work."

"Why you!" Shura bristled. Danny reeled back in fear as she stepped toward him, rolling up her sleeve, "I refuse to let him go to another crew! He's _ours!"_

'_When did I become a possession?' _Raiki thought, watching the two curiously. He closed his eyes and started to eat another leg once it was done cooking, "Oy…"

He got their attention. Shura was holding Danny up by the front of his shirt, and the fisherman was struggling to free himself to no avail, "You could've been quite a ways to another island by now… With that kind… energy," Raiki stated between swallows and bites, talking with his mouth full.

"There's no other way?" Shura asked him, dropping Danny on his rear in the sand. Raiki wordlessly shook his head, "Aaaawwww! Dammit!" She stomped her foot in frustration and sand moved out in a ripple around her.

"Calm down, or we're gonna have the whole island on our asses…" Danny grumbled, looking around nervously. After all of the excitement earlier, he was surprised they didn't already.

"Mmm… All right! We'll find the best damn chef around! Or cook! Whatever!" She pointed at Raiki, "And you _will _be the Straw Hat pirate's swordsman!" Raiki shrugged his shoulders.

"Whatever you say," He took a bite out of his boar leg, "Better hurry, the other crew has about a day's head start… And a faster ship," Shura wasted no time. She picked Danny up by the back of his shirt, slung him over shoulder and

"We'll be back for you!" She shouted over her shoulder as she sped off down the beach. Her initial step kicked up a large wave of sand in her wake that washed over both Raiki's fire and a portion of his food. The light grew dim and the flames flickered. Raiki looked down at the boar leg in his hand, most of his bite marks sprinkled with sand. He looked over at his other meats, cooked and uncooked and they were in the same state.

"Dammit…"

* * *

**End. **

If Danny and Shura can find a chef, a good one at that, in time, then they'll have a swordsman to boot! But they also have to convince the chef to join them... Quite a pickle, but it's a two for one deal. Let's see how it goes next time.


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6 **

* * *

"Great! The very _first_ swordsman we come across, and he's _perfect_ for the crew! And he's being a stubborn ass about it!" Shura seemed ready to rip her hair out. The moment they got back to the boat she tossed him on to the rowing side and pushed them out on to the water. She started rummaging through her duffle and brought out papers, some wrinkled, some in rather good condition.

"Swordsman are… popular, right?" Danny asked and Shura looked up with an expecting gaze, "I – I mean… They're strong. People like being strong… right?"

"What the hell is your point? Spit it out!" Shura shouted, throwing a couple crumpled papers at his head. Danny let them bounce off of his forehead, keeping his same blank expression.

He rubbed the back of his neck, "I'm sayin' we could probably find another swordsman really quick. You heard… Raiki, another crew is looking to hire him… Or whatever it is pirates do for new members. They've got a head start too, and probably a faster boat too."

Shura grabbed Danny by the front of his shirt and pulled him close until he was almost nose to nose with her, "I am _not_ gonna let him go without a fight!" Shura replied, giving him a blank glare, one that made him shudder. She gave him a push back and she returned to normal.

"You're not wrong," She sighed, "Swordsmans aren't uncommon. We could go to a bigger town and probably find them all over the place. But as skilled as him? Do you know the odds of that?" Danny merely shook his head, "I can't pass this up."

He was surprised. She seemed serious about this.

Shura shuffled through a few papers, "Aahhh! That annual cooking contest is coming up in Loguetown… That's where I wanted to find a cook, but that's _so_ far! I only mapped Zabba Island's path for the next couple of days! We'll lose it!" Shura put her head in her hands, "Craaaaap…" She groaned.

"Too bad," Danny replied, "Well, it looks like a sign to me," He stated, stretching his arms over his head. He folded them behind his head and crossed his legs at his ankles, "Being a pirate just isn't in the stars – Too many problems. So just row us to my island and we can part ways there."

There was silence.

"Danny…"

"Hmm?"

"Shut the hell up."

'_It was worth a shot…' _He thought to himself, sighing in reality, "So… Are we just going to row all night and day until we reach some shore? We're all out of coffee beans…" He turned over the small burlap bag that had held the beans nothing but dark dust fell out.

"We'll have to! If we're fast enough then we can make it back and still be on Zabba's trail! You know any good cooks back in Valon Town?"

Danny shrugged, "Street vendors and ramen stand owners, that's about all I know."

"It has to be awesome! Is that ramen like… Super Ultra Legendary Ramen that make your taste buds explode from the sheer deliciousness?" Shura asked, leaning in and pulling him forward by the front of his shirt.

"It's… Ramen…" Danny said, shaking his head, unable to think of anything better to say, "I – It's all right… I guess… The broth's kind of bitter an – Oof!" Shura shoved him back and he hit the back of the boat with a thud, "Aaa… Oooow!" He rubbed his now sore back.

"You are completely useless right now," She grumbled, and while Danny heard her, he went with his better judgment and remained quiet.

"Stop pushing me around… Ah, you want me to get stronger, but you're gonna end up killing me."

"Stop your whining, no one ever improved by complaining – Throwing you around a little bit is the perfect way to toughen you up," Shura replied. Danny grumbled under his breath, "What was that?"

"Nothing!"

"Thought so…" Shura went back to rifling through her papers. Danny sat the straw hat down at his feet and he sighed. He leaned on the edge and looked at his silhouette on the water's surface. He spied something dark pass under the boat and his eyes widened.

There it was again, "Uhm… Shura?" No response.

"Shura?"

"Huh… Yeah…"

"Shura?!"

"What?!" She finally looked up from her papers, "What do you want?"

"There's something in the frekain' water!" Danny replied.

"…Really?" She deadpanned, "You stopped my research… To tell me that there is something in the water?"

"…I… You know what I mean!" Danny shouted, "There's something under the freakin' boat, dammit!"

Shura merely shook her head and went back to reading. Danny cursed several times under his breath. He stuck his head out over the edge and he saw the shadow pass under them toward the other side and he quickly moved to the other side to try and catch it, "Oy! Watch it! We can't afford to lose any of this stuff!" Shura shouted.

"More important things are going on…" Danny murmured. He lost the shadow. He grabbed one of the oars and kept it close. He had to wait. Maybe he could stop it and Shura would get them out of there, or kick its ass whatever it was. His eyes widened. There it was! And it was getting closer!

"Fuck off!" Danny shouted. He swung down with all his might just as something started to surface and there was a loud crack. The paddle shattered, and at the same time the oar broke in two. The upper portion went flying off in to the ocean at their backs. Danny stood in his after-swing stance, panting heavily and red in the face.

Shura peered over the side of the boat and all there was a yellow lump with a large red bump crowing from it. She reached out a poked it a couple times, "What the…?" She flinched back when the lump started to rise. A head emerged, eyes rolled back and mouth open.

"Aaaaaahhh!"

Shura turned on Danny, "What the hell was that?" Danny was visibly shaking, both hands over his mouth and as pale as a ghost. She shook her head disapprovingly. She turned here attention back to the floating head. It rose higher and higher and she was fairly relieved to see a torso attached, now for the legs…

The body went belly up and was floating on its back now. He was clothed in an open orange shirt, with white flower patterns and tanned pants. He had yellow, scaly-looking skin and a white underbelly. Shura's brow furrowed. She reached forward and ran the tips of fingers along the bottom of his foot, "Scaly…"

Her eyes widened. They lit up and a grin stretched across her face. She squealed with joy, "Cooool! It's a fishman! I've never seen one up close before!" Shura exclaimed, forgoing her research and leaning over the side of the boat.

"Holy Shit! I – I killed him! I just killed him!" Danny shouted, grabbing his head, taking hold of tufts of his hair and pulling, "Aaaagh! I – No! Nuh uh… Holy shit!" He was at a loss for words. All he could do was stammer like an idiot while he looked at the floating body of the fishman.

Shura gave him a light shove to put him on his rear, "Don't get so worked up…" She stood up and hopped off of the boat and on to the fishman's stomach.

"SHURA!" Danny screamed, "He's dead! Have a little respect!"

She didn't reply. She dropped on to her hands and knees. She threw her hair over one of her shoulders and leaned down with her ear next to his nose and mouth, "Ah, stop screaming. He's unconscious."

"W – what?" Danny stammered.

"His heart is beating, his breathing is shallow, and he's got a bump on his head, but he's alive," Shura said, jumping back on to their boat. It rocked lightly and Danny held on tightly to the side. Shura thought nothing of it, instead bending over and grabbing the fishman by his foot before he could float away outside of her reach.

"So… What's a fishman, exactly?" Danny asked after a moment of silence. Shura stared at him with a deadpan expression, making him turn his gaze elsewhere.

"… Really?" she asked him, "Their race is called 'fishman' and you can't figure it out?"

"I mean… I _know_ what he is, but what… _Is _he?" From the look on Shura's face, he could tell that hadn't helped in the slightest, "What is a fishman exactly? I know they're people who are also fish… but, ya know?"

Shura sighed, "They're physically superior to any normal human," She started, "Stronger, faster, then there's obvious traits that come with being a fish like being able to breath underwater and fight in it as if they were on land. And some usually have some kind of ability that comes with their type of fish. Shark Fishman can regrow their teeth, octopus or squid fishman can use ink as a weapon and have multiple arms for battle."

Danny looked over the floating fishman.

"They've gotten a lot of hate in the past. Fishman like Arlong… And Hody Jones, they really didn't help with the fear. Humans feared fishman because they were so much stronger… A big threat, but lately things have been smoothed out," Shura's brow furrowed, _'Was he going to attack us? I don't see any battle scars… He's not a shark, so there's a chance he's not so aggressive… Huh?' _

"Are fishman… Good? At all?" Danny asked.

"Do you mean alignment or to eat, because that's technically cannibalism and that's just awful… You're awful," Shura said, not even looking back at him but pointing a wagging finger at his face.

"Alignment! Geez…" Danny scratched the back of his head, _'And they're fish… We eat fish… Is that cannibalism?' _He was confusing himself at this point.

"Fishmen are usually neutral," Shura replied, "Some are good, and some are bad… You never really know until you get to know them, not that many people have tried."

"Yep," Neither of them had said that, "Ugghh… They usually write us off as the baddies from the get go! … And the few rotten fish in the barrel haven't helped our case that much, no sir! Mahaha!" The large fishman shook with a loud laughter. He shifted and a portion of his body sank in to the water. He flipped himself up right and he was soon eye level with Danny and Shura.

"Nice swing, ma boy!" He exclaimed, laughing more, "Mahaha! Gave me a right headache you did!" He said, lifting one of his large arms out of the water and rubbing the large bump Danny had made on his head, "Ah, now's a doozy! Surprised I ain't dead, I am!" The Fishman let out another hearty laugh.

"Please don't kill me…" Danny murmured, bowing before the fishman, "I am but a humble fisherman, the irony would be too great…"

"Mahahahaha! Ah, don't beat yourself up there – Or me either! I need my wits about me and another hit like that'll probably knock'em outta me, ya know? Mahahaha!"

"What's your name there, Fishman?" Shura asked, talking a bit more casually with the fishman.

"Buncha!" He exclaimed, "And you two?"

"Shura Barlet!" She said with a grin, pointing at herself, "Acting Captain of our little ragtag crew, and that's Danny," She motioned to the young man partially hiding behind her, "The future Pirate King!"

"Pirate King?! Those are some big dreams, they are! Mahaha!" Buncha laughed heartily, "But he's not the Captain, you say?" He turned to Shura.

"Nah, he's pretty weak right now," Shura replied bluntly. Danny clicked his tongue and looked away, blushing a bit. Buncha burst out in another fit of loud laughter.

"Ah, I don't think you should go around and telling people that!" He raised himself a bit more so that he could see in to the boat, and his landed on the straw hat, "Not when people are so eager to kill the next Straw Hat," Danny physically paled hearing this, "Yep! Mahahaha! I've heard many people say that they'd kill for that straw hat… Or kill the next owner and burn it. It sparked a revolution, but it damn sparked the flames of a funeral pyre too! Mahahaha!"

Danny fell over with a thud, unconscious.

"Geez…" Shura murmured, poking him in the side. He didn't react, "What am I gonna do with you?"

"He'll be fine, missy!" Buncha exclaimed, "I noticed you two were runnin' low on supplies, how's about I treat ya both? Eh, call it a favor for scarin' the daylights outta your friend there!"

Shura's eyes lit up and a grin spread across her face, "Lead the way!... Oh, could you pull us along… Danny there broke one of the oars over your head."

"Mahahahaha! Not a problem!" Buncha maneuvered to the front of their dinghy, "Off we go!"

* * *

"This is really good!" Danny said, shoveling more food in to his mouth. By the time he was done with his first, Shura had finished three and was asking for a fourth. Buncha burst out laughing, slapping his knee.

"I'm glad you like my cooking! Mahahaha!" The pufferfish fishman threw his head back in uproarious laughter, "It's been a long while since I've seen anyone with such an appetite! Eat as much as you like missy!" He exclaimed, taking Shura's plate and loading it up with more food than the previous two servings.

"YUM!"

Buncha let out another hearty laugh, watching her devour his food. He looked down at Danny who was finishing off the last of his food with a satisfied smile, "And you, Straw Hat? Want seconds?"

"Yeah, thanks!" Danny nodded his head vigorously and handed his plate to Buncha. He was given lesser portions, not that he cared. He ate happily.

"Danny," He looked up at Shura, the silver haired girl giving him a rather curious and surprised expression, "I think that's the first time I've seen you smile."

"You've tasted this food," Danny replied, "It's hard not to smile! This is really good!" He spooned a large scoop of rice in to his mouth and used and knife and fork to cut off a piece of the meat provided and stuffed that in to his almost overfilled mouth.

"Hahaha!" Buncha laughed heartily again, clapping his large hands together, "Bonding over good food! There's nothing like it!" The large fishman got up and grabbed three mugs and passed them around. They were normal sized to the large fishman, but were as tall as their upper bodies. He then grabbed a barrel big enough that he had to carry it with both hands, "And some drink to wash it down, I almost forgot it!"

"Drink and eat your fill! And I'll get you back to that island in no time! Mahahahahah!" Buncha laughed, pouring them drinks for them all, "Cheers!" He exclaimed, raising his mug. Shura lifted hers with a bit of effort and Danny had to stand and wrap his arms around the mug.

"Cheers!" Shura exclaimed. Danny with a bit of strain in his voice. The three of them drank heavily.

"Aaah!" Buncha sighed as he brought his mug away. His pale yellow cheeks already dusted with a hint of red, "That's some good drink! Mahahahah! What do ya think, eh?"

Both Danny and Shura had their heads bowed. Danny slowly slumped over, the right side of his face pressed against the mug. He was out cold.

Shura used her mug to raise her upper body and her head lulled back. Her face was red. Her eyes were half-lidded and blood shot. A goofy grin spread across her face. Hiccups racked her body, "Th – Thaaaa… That ish… Shooo good! Really - *Hic* Really strong stuff… I *hic* Like it!"

"Glad to hear it!" Buncha exclaimed.

"You… Yooouuuuu Mr… *Hic* Mr. Fiiishhhman… Fishman! Are – Are… Gonna be… Our Ch – Chef! Our crew Chef! YEP!" And with that she fell back, out cold like Danny.

"Mahahahahah! Ah, Good times all around!" Buncha laughed and rank heavily, enjoying the rest of his food seeing as Danny and Shura wouldn't be.

* * *

**End. **


End file.
